Artist Blog
Every week an artist whose single image was published by Der Greif is given a platform in which to blog about contemporary photography.
Carina Hesper – Like a pearl in my hand
Feb 03, 2017 - Robin Butter
Maybe it was the handwritten note which stated ‘please touch’ in front of the publication of Carina Hesper that caught my interest at Polycopies at the Paris Photo Fair. It turns out it deserved my interest as it is a technically intriguing and beautiful project.
‘Like a pearl in my hand’ focuses on 32 residents of the Bethel Orphanage in Beijing. The children are visually impaired and have been given up by their parents. Due to the one-child-policy in China (since 2015 doubled to a two-child-policy) and the loss of face associated with having a child with a disability, children that were impaired risked the chance of being abandoned.
Hesper’s project reveals a side of China, not usually visible to the rest of the world. This project though takes the concept of revealing even further. Besides revealing a story it uses practical techniques to empower its message. The portraits are not visible until the paper is heated up to 25 degrees Celcius. By utilizing thermodynamic ink and a human touch, the children rise up from the darkness underneath your hand.